About
Gunnar Almevik

Teaching areas
• Theory, practice and history of heritage conservation
• Cultural studies of crafts, buildings and built environments
• Building analysis, documentation and visualization
• Craft research

Almevik is senior lecturer in heritage conservation. His pedagogical experiences include teaching on bachelor, master and doctoral level, and the tasks range from lectures, supervision of experiments and fieldwork to administration and development of new courses and programs. In 1996 he founded and directed the Vocational College of Heritage Crafts (DACAPO) and led the incorporation with higher education 2005; now in form of BA programs, Master and PhD students in Building crafts, Garden and Landscape crafts at the Department of Conservation. At present he is head supervisor for four doctoral students in heritage conservation with craft research subjects.

Research Areas
• Intangible cultural heritage
• History of buildings and built environments
• Digital documentation and visualization
• Historic building materials and techniques

Almevik gained his PhD in 2012 with the thesis The building as a Source of Knowledge [Byggnaden som kunskapskälla].The thesis received The Royal Gustavus Adolphus Academy’s [Kungl. Gustav Adolfs Akademien för svensk folkkultur] award as ”an important contribution to the renewal of the historical research of buildings and built environments”. Almevik’s research concerns cultural perspectives on historical crafts, buildings and built environments, and has a general focus on methodological questions related to material culture and making.

Almevik also has a research interest in intangible heritage and the relation between heritage craft and conservation. In 2010 he founded and directed the Craft Laboratory at the University of Gothenburg. As director he supervised the practice-led research performed at heritage sites and restorations projects.

At present he is Research Fellow at The Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities. His research concerns medieval wooden building culture with cultural historical perspectives on uses and senses of the buildings and built environments. The research also takes on a methodological interest in the use of digital technology for documentation and presentation. The project Wooden Building Cultures involves cooperation with the Swedish History Museum.

Involved in Society
Almevik’s academic activities involve regular cooperation with actors and organizations outside of academia. How to bridge the gap between research and practice is one of his major concerns. Societal needs and requests have been were the main motives for establishing the Vocational College of Heritage Crafts, as well as the Craft Laboratory. The objective of this laboratory is to document, pass down and develop co-craft strategies in weak and endangered craft fields. Another objective is to initiate craft research and project based laboratories to re-enact forgotten knowledge and develop and expand traditional processes to make them sustainable in contemporary society.